Inventory management computer system

ABSTRACT

A computer system includes an inventory management server, a plurality of point-of-sale (POS) terminals communicating with the inventory management server over a first network, a face recognition computer having a camera communicating with the inventory management server over the first network, and a portable terminal communicating wirelessly with the inventory management server over a second network. The inventory management server is configured to generates alerts that are displayed on the portable terminal based on first data from the POS terminals and second data from the face recognition computer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/581,021, filed Sep. 24, 2019, which application is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/875,368, filed Jan. 19, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,482,444, issued on Nov. 19, 2019, which application isbased upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2017-029878, filed Feb. 21, 2017, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an inventory managementcomputer system.

BACKGROUND

In a retail store such as a supermarket, when a regular customer entersa store, there is a case in which a commodity that the regular customeroften purchases is in stock, but the commodity is not displayed on acommodity shelf, a sales opportunity is lost.

Conventionally, such commodity display management is performed based oncommodity sales data, commodity replenishment data and commodity discarddata. Since a commodity preferred by the customer who enters the retailstore is not preferentially displayed on the commodity shelf, if adifferent commodity that is likely to be purchased by the customer whoenters the retail store is not displayed, the different commodity cannotbe timely displayed on the commodity shelf.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a commodity display management system accordingto a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of astore server;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of aPOS terminal;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of acustomer detection apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of aportable terminal;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functionalcomponents of the commodity display management system;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure storedin a customer master file;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure storedin a commodity display master file;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screendisplayed on the portable terminal;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed bythe customer detection apparatus and the flow of a series of processingexecuted by the store server when a customer enters a store;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed bythe portable terminal;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed bythe POS terminal and the flow of a series of processing executed by thestore server at a predetermined time such as after closing a store;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a commodity display management system accordingto a second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of acustomer detection apparatus according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of adisplay quantity detection apparatus;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the functional components of acommodity display management system according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screendisplayed on a portable terminal according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the flow processing executed by acustomer detection apparatus and a store server according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed bythe display quantity detection apparatus according to the secondembodiment; and

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed bythe store server at a predetermined time such as after closing a storeaccording to the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with an embodiment, a computer system includes aninventory management server, a plurality of point-of-sale (POS)terminals communicating with the inventory management server over afirst network, a face recognition computer having a camera communicatingwith the inventory management server over the first network, and aportable terminal communicating wirelessly with the inventory managementserver over a second network. The inventory management server isconfigured to generates alerts that are displayed on the portableterminal based on first data from the POS terminals and second data fromthe face recognition computer.

First Embodiment

A commodity display management system 100 a provided with a store server10 a which is an example of an information processing apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention is describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a systemconstitution diagram of the commodity display management system 100 ainstalled in a retail store. The commodity display management system 100a predicts a commodity a customer purchases based on an attribute of thecustomer who enters the retail store. Then, the commodity displaymanagement system 100 a requests a store clerk who performs thecommodity display to replenish the commodity on condition that a displayquantity of the predicted commodities is less than a predeterminedvalue. The commodity display management system 100 a is a commodityreplenishment support system. As shown in FIG. 1 , the commodity displaymanagement system 100 a includes a store server 10 a, a POS terminal(Point Of Sales) 50, a customer detection apparatus 70 a, and a portableterminal 80.

The store server 10 a manages commodity information, customerinformation, and commodity display information for the retail store. Thestore server 10 a extracts the attributes of a customer C who enters theretail store. The store server 10 a then predicts the commodity that thecustomer C is likely to purchase based on the attribute of the customerC. Further, the store server 10 a requests for the store clerk whoperforms the commodity display to replenish the commodity, when thedisplay quantity of the predicted commodities is less than thepredetermined value.

A plurality of POS terminals 50 is installed in the retail store. ThePOS terminal 50 executes a commodity registration processing and acheckout processing of a commodity purchased by the customer C.

The customer detection apparatus 70 a is installed at an entrance of theretail store, and captures an image of a face of the customer C whovisits the retail store. The store server 10 a, the POS terminal 50, andthe customer detection apparatus 70 a communicate with one another by acommunication network 34 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The portable terminal 80 is held by each of a plurality of store clerkswho perform the commodity display work in the retail store. Based on aninstruction from the store server 10 a, the portable terminal 80communicates to the store clerk the commodity information necessary forthe commodities to be displayed. The store server 10 a and the portableterminal 80 communicate with each other via a wireless communication 36such as a wireless LAN.

Description of Hardware Structure of Store Server

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of thestore server 10 a.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the store server 10 a is installed in a back officeof a retail store, and includes a control section 18 having a computerthat includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a ROM (Read OnlyMemory) 14, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 16. The CPU 12 executes variousprocessing to control each section. The ROM 14 stores data in anon-volatile manner. The RAM 16 stores various data in a rewritablemanner and is used as a work area. The CPU 12, the ROM 14 and the RAM 16are connected via an internal bus line 30.

Further, a keyboard 24 and a display section 26 as peripheral devicesare connected to the store server 10 a via a controller 22. Theoperations of both peripheral devices are all controlled by the controlsection 18. The keyboard 24 receives an input of an operationinstruction to the store server 10 a. The display section 26 displaysinformation output by the store server 10 a.

Furthermore, the store server 10 a is provided with a communicationinterface (I/F) 28 for executing data communication with the POSterminal 50 and the customer detection apparatus 70 a via thecommunication network 34 provided in the retail store. The communicationI/F 28 performs mutual communication between the store server 10 a andthe portable terminal 80 through the wireless communication 36. Thecommunication I/F 28 is also connected to the internal bus line 30.

A memory section 20, which is a storage device, is connected to thecontrol section 18 via the internal bus line 30. The memory section 20is, for example, a HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a flash memory and the like,and stores the stored content even if the power is cut off.

The memory section 20 stores an operating system, a control program P1such as various computer programs and various master data such as acommodity master file F1, a commodity display master file F2, and acustomer master file F3.

The control program P1 executed by the store server 10 a may be providedas a file in an installable format or an executable format in acomputer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a FD (FlexibleDisk), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the like.

The control program P1 executed by the store server 10 a may be storedon a computer connected to a network such as an Internet, and beprovided by being downloaded via the network. Further, the controlprogram P1 executed by the store server 10 a may be provided ordistributed via a network such as the Internet. The control program P1executed by the store server 10 a may be provided by being incorporatedin the ROM 14 in advance.

The commodity master file F1 is a master file in which the commodityinformation of all commodities handled at the retail store isregistered. The commodity information includes information such as acommodity code, a commodity category, a commodity name, a unit price,etc. The commodity display master file F2 is a master file in whichcommodity display status and inventory status in the retail store areregistered. The commodity display master file F2 includes informationsuch as a commodity code, a commodity name, an inventory quantity(display quantity) on a commodity shelf, an inventory quantity in theback office, etc. The customer master file F3 is a master file in whichthe customer information is registered. The customer master file F3includes a customer code, a customer name, a feature value foridentifying a facial image of the customer, information indicatingwhether the customer is a regular customer, information such as apurchase history of the customer and the like as the customerinformation. The customer master file F3 is described in detail later.

Description of Hardware Structure of POS Terminal

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of thePOS terminal 50. As shown in FIG. 3 , the POS terminal 50 includes acontrol section 58 having a computer including a CPU 52, a ROM 54 and aRAM 56. The CPU 52 executes various processing to control each section.The ROM 54 stores data in an non-volatile manner. The RAM 56 storesvarious data in a rewritable manner and is used as a work area. The CPU52, the ROM 54 and the RAM 56 are connected via an internal bus line 77.

Peripheral devices such as a keyboard 64, a display section for storeclerk 66, a display section for customer 68, a printer 70, a barcodereader 71 and the like are connected to the POS terminal 50 via acontroller 62. The operations of these peripheral devices are allcontrolled by the control section 58.

The keyboard 64 includes various keys such as, for example, a numerickey for entering a commodity code and an amount of money, a subtotal keyfor declaring calculation of a sales total amount, a cash total key fordeclaring settlement by cash in a sales processing, a PLU (PriceLook-Up) key for designating various commodities, a confirmation key forconfirming a numeric input by the numeric keys, a clear key, and thelike.

Further, the POS terminal 50 is provided with a communication I/F 79 forexecuting data communication with the store server 10 a, which is a hostdevice, via the communication network 34 installed in the retail store.The communication I/F 79 is connected to the internal bus line 77.

A memory section 60 which is a storage device is connected to thecontrol section 58 via the internal bus line 77. The memory section 60is a HDD, a flash memory, or the like, and stores the stored contentseven if the power is cut off.

The memory section 60 stores an operating system, a control program P2such as various computer programs, and various data such as a PLU fileF4 and a transaction file F5.

The control program P2 executed by the POS terminal 50 may be providedas a file in an installable format or an executable format in acomputer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a FD (FlexibleDisk), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the like.

The control program P2 executed by the POS terminal 50 may be stored ona computer connected to a network such as an Internet, and be providedby being downloaded via the network. Further, the control program P2executed by the POS terminal 50 may be provided or distributed via anetwork such as the Internet. The control program P2 executed by the POSterminal 50 may be provided by being incorporated in the ROM 54 inadvance.

The PLU file F4 is a file in which a commodity code and a unit price foruniquely identifying each commodity are registered. The PLU file F4 is afile in which information for registering the commodity purchased by thecustomer, retrieved from the commodity master file F1 described above.The transaction file F5 is a file in which the transaction history inthe POS terminal 50 is recorded. The transaction file F5 includesinformation such as a purchaser, a commodity name, a quantity, a salesdate and time, and the like.

Description of Hardware Structure of Customer Detection Apparatus

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of thecustomer detection apparatus 70 a. As shown in FIG. 4 , the customerdetection apparatus 70 a includes a control section 78 having a computerincluding a CPU 72, a ROM 74 and a RAM 76. The CPU 72 executes variousprocessing to control each section. The ROM 74 stores data in anon-volatile manner. The RAM 76 stores variable data in a rewritablemanner and is used as a work area. The CPU 72, the ROM 74, and the RAM76 are connected via an internal bus line 87.

A control program P3 executed by the customer detection apparatus 70 ais stored in the ROM 74. The control program P3 may be provided as afile in an installable format or an executable format in acomputer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a FD (FlexibleDisk), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the like.

A plurality of cameras 89 are connected to the customer detectionapparatus 70 a via a controller 81. Each of the cameras 89 has the samegeneral configuration and captures an image including a face of thecustomer C in the retail store. The operation of the camera 89 iscontrolled by the control section 78.

Furthermore, the customer detection apparatus 70 a is provided with acommunication I/F 91 for executing data communication with the storeserver 10 a, which is a host device, via the communication network 34provided in the retail store. The communication I/F 91 is connected tothe internal bus line 87.

Description of Hardware Structure of Portable Terminal

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of theportable terminal 80. As shown in FIG. 5 , the portable terminal 80includes a control section 88 having a computer constitution including aCPU 82, a ROM 84, a RAM 86, and the like. The CPU 82 executes variousprocessing to control each section. The ROM 84 stores data in anon-volatile manner. The RAM 86 stores variable data in a rewritablemanner and is used as a work area. The CPU 82, the ROM 84, and the RAM86 are connected via an internal bus line 98.

A control program P4 executed by the portable terminal 80 is stored inthe ROM 84.

A display section 94 and a touch panel 92 are connected to the portableterminal 80 via a controller 90. The display section 94 displaysinformation output by the portable terminal 80. The touch panel 92receives an input of an operation instruction to the portable terminal80. The operations of both peripheral devices are controlled by thecontrol section 88.

Further, the portable terminal 80 is provided with a communication I/F96 for executing data communication with the store server 10 a via thewireless communication 36. The communication I/F 96 is also connected tothe internal bus line 98.

Description of Functional Component of Commodity Display ManagementSystem

Next, the functional components of the commodity display managementsystem 100 a are described with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 is a blockdiagram illustrating the functional components of the commodity displaymanagement system 100 a.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the commodity display management system 100 aincludes the store server 10 a, the POS terminal 50, the customerdetection apparatus 70 a, and the portable terminal 80. Although aplurality of POS terminals 50 and a plurality of the portable terminals80 are provided, here, in order to simplify the description, thecommodity display management system 100 a is illustrated with one POSterminal 50 and one portable terminal 80, respectively.

The CPU 12 (FIG. 2 ) of the store server 10 a operates according to thecontrol program P1 to realize a customer identifying section 102, apurchased commodity prediction section 104, a display quantitycalculation section 106, an inventory quantity calculation section 108,a commodity display request section 110, an information transmission andreception section 112 and a data storage section 114 shown in FIG. 6 asfunctional sections inside the control section 18.

The customer identifying section 102 is an example of a identifyingmodule. The customer identifying section 102 compares a feature valueextracted from the facial image of the customer C captured by thecustomer detection apparatus 70 a with a feature value registered in thecustomer master file F3 mentioned above to identify the customer C whoenters the retail store.

The purchased commodity prediction section 104 is an example of aprediction module. The purchased commodity prediction section 104predicts a commodity that the customer C is likely to purchase based ona result of identifying the customer C. Specifically, the purchasedcommodity prediction section 104 predicts a commodity that is likely tobe purchased based on a past purchase history of the customer C.

The display quantity calculation section 106 is an example of acalculation module. The display quantity calculation section 106calculates how many of the commodities predicted by the purchasedcommodity prediction section 104 are currently displayed on thecommodity shelf of the retail store. Specifically, the display quantitycalculation section 106 refers to the commodity display master file F2to obtain a display quantity of the corresponding commodities at thetime of opening the store. The display quantity calculation section 106then calculates the current display quantity by subtracting the numberof commodities subjected to a checkout processing in the POS terminal 50from the obtained display quantity.

The inventory quantity calculation section 108 calculates the currentinventory quantity (inventory quantity stored in the back office of theretail store) of the commodities predicted by the purchased commodityprediction section 104. Specifically, the inventory quantity calculationsection 108 refers to the commodity display master file F2 to obtain atotal inventory quantity of the corresponding commodities at the time ofopening the store. The inventory quantity calculation section 108 thencalculates the current inventory quantity by subtracting the number ofcommodities displayed on the commodity shelf up to now from the totalinventory quantity at the time of opening the store.

The commodity display request section 110 is an example of a requestmodule. When the display quantity of a commodity predicted by thepurchased commodity prediction section 104 is less than a predeterminedvalue and the current inventory quantity of the commodities is not 0,the commodity display request section 110 transmits the commoditydisplay request information requesting the commodity display of thecorresponding commodity to the portable terminal 80 carried by the storeclerk.

The information transmission and reception section 112 transmits andreceives information between the store server 10 a and the POS terminal50. The information transmission and reception section 112 transmits andreceives information between the store server 10 a and the customerdetection apparatus 70 a. Further, the information transmission andreception section 112 transmits and receives information between thestore server 10 a and the portable terminal 80. The informationtransmitted and received is described in detail with reference to theflowcharts in FIG. 10 , FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 described later.

The data storage section 114 is realized by the memory section 20 (FIG.2 ) described above. The data storage section 114 stores the controlprogram P1, the commodity master file F1, the commodity display masterfile F2, and the customer master file F3 described above. The content ofeach master file is described later.

The CPU 52 (FIG. 3 ) of the POS terminal 50 operates according to thecontrol program P2 to realize a commodity registration processingsection 120, a checkout processing section 122, a purchase historyupdating section 124, an information transmission and reception section126, and a data storage section 128 shown in FIG. 6 as the functionalsections inside the control section 58. Although not shown in FIG. 6 ,all POS terminals 50 have the same functional components.

The commodity registration processing section 120 reads a commodity codeof a commodity from a barcode on the commodity purchased by the customerC. The commodity registration processing section 120 performs acommodity registration processing of registering the commodity based onthe read commodity code.

The checkout processing section 122 executes a checkout processing forsettling a transaction with respect to the commodity after the commodityregistration processing section 120 registers the commodity codes of allthe commodities purchased by the customer C.

The purchase history updating section 124 stores the commodityinformation purchased by the customer C in the transaction file F5 afterthe checkout processing is completed. As a result, the purchase historyof the customer C is generated.

The information transmission and reception section 126 transmits andreceives information between the POS terminal 50 and the store server 10a. Specifically, the transaction file F5 is transmitted from the POSterminal 50 to the store server 10 a. Details are described withreference to the flowchart in FIG. 12 described later.

The data storage section 128 is realized by the memory section 60 (FIG.3 ) described above. The data storage section 128 stores the controlprogram P2, the PLU file F4, and the transaction file F5 describedabove. The content of each file is described later.

The CPU 72 (FIG. 4 ) of the customer detection apparatus 70 a operatesaccording to the control program P3 to realize an image capturingsection 140, a face detection section 141, an information transmissionand reception section 142 and a data storage section 144 shown in FIG. 6as the functional sections inside the control section 78.

The image capturing section 140 captures an image including the face ofthe customer C by the camera 89 (89 a, . . . , 89 k).

The face detection section 141 performs a face detection processing fordetecting a face from the image captured by the image capturing section140.

The information transmission and reception section 142 transmits andreceives information between the customer detection apparatus 70 a andthe store server 10 a. Specifically, a category of the feature value andthe magnitude of the feature value extracted from the face detectionsection 141 are transmitted from the customer detection apparatus 70 ato the store server 10 a. Details are described with reference to theflowchart in FIG. 10 described later.

The data storage section 144 is realized by the ROM 74 (FIG. 4 )described above. The data storage section 144 stores the control programP3.

The CPU 82 (FIG. 5 ) of the portable terminal 80 operates according tothe control program P4 to realize a display control section 150, acommodity display declaration information input section 152, a commoditydisplay information input section 153, an information transmission andreception section 154, and a data storage section 156 shown in FIG. 6 asthe functional sections inside the control section 88. Although notshown in FIG. 6 , all the portable terminals 80 have the same functionalcomponents.

The display control section 150 controls the information displayed onthe display section 94 (FIG. 5 ) of the portable terminal 80.Specifically, the display control section 150 displays a notificationscreen 95 a (see FIG. 9 ) including a commodity display requestinformation on the display section 94 of the portable terminal 80.Further, the display control section 150 erases the commodity displayrequest information displayed on the display section 94 of the portableterminal 80 other than the portable terminal 80 where an I-go button B1(see FIG. 9 ) described later is pressed.

The commodity display declaration information input section 152 receivesintention display of the store clerk for performing the commoditydisplay at the time information for requesting the commodity display isdisplayed on the display section 94 (FIG. 5 ) of the portable terminal80. Specifically, the commodity display declaration information inputsection 152 receives a press on the I-go button B1 (refer to FIG. 9 )described later. Further, the commodity display declaration informationinput section 152 transmits the intention display indicating that thestore clerk performs the commodity display to the store server 10 a.

The commodity display information input section 153 receives thecommodity code and the quantity (commodity display information) of thecommodity, which is displayed on the commodity shelf, which are input inthe portable terminal 80 if the clerk performs the commodity display.

The information transmission and reception section 154 transmits andreceives information between the portable terminal 80 and the storeserver 10 a. Specifically, the commodity display request information andan instruction to erase the commodity display request information aretransmitted from the store server 10 a to the portable terminal 80.Information indicating pressing of the I-go button B1 and the commoditydisplay information are transmitted from the portable terminal 80 to thestore server 10 a. Details are described with reference to flowcharts inFIG. 10 and FIG. 11 described later.

The data storage section 156 is realized by the above-mentioned ROM 84(FIG. 5 ). The data storage section 156 stores the control program P4.

The functional components shown in FIG. 6 are merely examples and arenot limited to the illustrated components. For example, by storing thecustomer master file F3 in the data storage section 144 of the customerdetection apparatus 70 a, a change such as making the customer detectionapparatus 70 a have the function of the customer identifying section 102may be made.

Description of Contents of Customer Master File

Next, with reference to FIG. 7 , the contents of the information storedin the customer master file F3 are described. FIG. 7 is a diagramillustrating an example of the data structure stored in the customermaster file F3.

The customer master file F3 has customer attribute information F3 a andpurchase history information F3 b. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the customerattribute information F3 a is a database that stores attributeinformation necessary for identifying the customer C. The purchasehistory information F3 b is a database that stores the past purchasehistory of the customer C, as shown in FIG. 7(b).

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the customer attribute information F3 a includesa serial number column f1, a customer ID column f2, a customer namecolumn f3, a feature value type column f4, a feature value amount columnf5 and a regular column f6. Although not shown in FIG. 7(a), thecustomer attribute information F3 a may also store age, sex and the likeof the customer C together.

The serial number column f1 stores data serial number. The customer IDcolumn f2 stores an identification number assigned to each registeredcustomer C. The customer name column f3 stores the name of each customerC.

The feature value type column f4 stores a type of the feature valuecontained in the facial image of the customer C, which is a feature foridentifying each customer C. The feature value amount column f5 storesan amount of the feature value stored in the feature value type columnf4 or a range of amounts of the feature value. The regular column f6stores information on whether the customer C is a regular customer. Forexample, it is assumed that the regular customer is a customer C whosefrequency of shopping at the retail store exceeds a predetermined value.Various other definitions may be considered for the regular. Forexample, a customer C whose past total payment amount in the retailstore exceeds a predetermined value may be defined as the regularcustomer.

As shown in FIG. 7(b), the purchase history information F3 b includes acustomer ID column f7, a commodity ID column f8, a commodity name columnf9, a quantity column f10, and a purchase date column f11.

The customer ID column f7 stores the identification number assigned toeach customer C. The commodity ID column f8 stores the commodity codepurchased by the customer C. The commodity name column f9 stores thecommodity name purchased by the customer C.

The quantity column f10 stores the quantity of commodities purchased bythe customer C. The purchase date column f11 stores the date at whichthe customer C purchases the commodity.

Both the customer attribute information F3 a and the purchase historyinformation F3 b included by the customer master file F3 have aso-called relational database structure. In other words, the informationregistered in the customer attribute information F3 a and theinformation registered in the purchase history information F3 b areassociated with each other. Therefore, by performing information searchon the information stored in the customer master file F3, it is possibleto easily extract various information on a specific customer C. Forexample, it is possible to easily perform a search operation such as“sort commodities purchased by a customer over the past year in order ofpurchase frequency”.

Description of Contents of Commodity Display Master File

Next, the content of information stored in the commodity display masterfile F2 is described with reference to FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 is a diagramillustrating an example of the data structure stored in the commoditydisplay master file F2.

The commodity display master file F2 is a database in which theinventory quantity of each commodity in the retail store is registered.As shown in FIG. 8 , the commodity display master file F2 includes acommodity ID column f20, a commodity name column f21, a display quantitycolumn f22, a back office inventory quantity column f23, and a commoditydisplay object column f24.

The commodity ID column f20 stores the commodity code of each commodity.The commodity name column f21 stores the commodity name.

The display quantity column f22 stores the number of commodities(display number) displayed on the commodity shelf. The back officeinventory quantity column f23 stores the number of commodities placed inthe back office. The commodity display object column f24 storesinformation indicating whether it is a commodity required to bedisplayed on the commodity shelf. The display quantity column f22 and anumerical value stored in the back office inventory quantity column f23are updated as appropriate. Specifically, the numerical value of thedisplay quantity column f22 is updated by reading a sales number ofcommodities every time the store server 10 a receives the transactionfile F5 updated each time the checkout processing is completed from thePOS terminal 50. The numerical value of the back office inventoryquantity column f23 is updated every time the store server 10 a receivesthe commodity code and the quantity of the commodities to be displayedon the commodity shelf which are input to the portable terminal 80 bythe store clerk who performs the commodity display.

For the commodity required to be displayed on the commodity shelf, acheck mark Cm is drawn in a check box C drawn in the commodity displayobject column f24 (for example, commodity A and commodity B in FIG. 8 ).On the other hand, for the commodity that is not required to bedisplayed on the commodity shelf, only the check box C which is empty isdrawn in the commodity display object column f24 (for example, commodityC in FIG. 8 ).

Whether the commodity display is necessary is determined based on thenumerical value stored in the display quantity column f22. If thenumerical value stored in the display quantity column f22 is less than apredetermined value (e.g., less than 15), a check mark Cm is drawn inthe check box C in the commodity display object column f24. On the otherhand, if the numerical value stored in the display quantity column f22is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the check box C isempty in the commodity display object column f24.

Description of Commodity Display Request Information

Next, with reference to FIG. 9 , if the commodity display is required,the commodity display request information sent to the portable terminal80 carried by the store clerk who performs the commodity display isdescribed. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of thenotification screen 95 a displayed on the portable terminal 80 in thepresent embodiment.

The display control section 150 (FIG. 6 ) of the portable terminal 80receives an instruction from the commodity display request section 110(FIG. 6 ) of the store server 10 a, and the notification screen 95 ashown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display section 94 (touch panel 92)of the portable terminal 80.

The notification screen 95 a displays the commodity display requestinformation. The commodity display request information includes a visitguidance M1, a visiting customer name M2, a commodity list F2 a, and theI-go button B1 which is an example of an operator.

The visit guidance M1 informs that the regular customer enters theretail store. The visiting customer name M2 is a name of the customer Cwho enters the retail store.

The commodity list F2 a is a commodity list that the customer C islikely to purchase based on the past purchase history of the customer Cselected from the commodity display master file F2. The commodity listF2 a has the same format as the commodity display master file F2. Thecommodity list F2 a in FIG. 9 has the same content as the commoditydisplay master file F2 in FIG. 8 . However, a commodity list F2 a isselected from the commodity display master file F2 in response to thecustomer C, and the commodity list F2 a is displayed on the notificationscreen 95 a.

The I-go button B1 is an operator for receiving the intention displayfrom the store clerk to perform the commodity display for the commodityindicated as the commodity display object in the commodity list F2 a.Specifically, the store clerk first selects the commodity to bedisplayed on the commodity shelf by pressing a commodity selectionbutton B2 or a commodity selection button B3. Next, the store clerkpresses the I-go button B1 to declare that the commodity display of thecommodities selected by the commodity selection buttons B2 and B3 isperformed.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by Customer DetectionApparatus and Store Server

Next, the flow of a series of processing executed by the customerdetection apparatus 70 a and the store server 10 a is described withreference to the flowchart in FIG. 10 . The flowchart shown in FIG. 10illustrates the flow of processing executed by the customer detectionapparatus 70 a and the flow of a series of processing executed by thestore server 10 a when the customer enters the retail store.

First, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 10(a), the flow ofprocessing executed by the customer detection apparatus 70 a isdescribed. The image capturing section 140 performs the image capturingprocessing (Act S10). There is no limitation on the execution timing ofthe image capturing processing, and the image capturing may be performedif an instruction is given by the control program P3.

The face detection section 141 performs the face detection processingfor detecting a face from images captured by the image capturing section140 (Act S12).

The face detection section 141 determines whether a face is detected(Act S14). If the face is detected (Yes in Act S14), the flow proceedsto the processing in Act S16. On the other hand, if no face is detected(No in Act S14), the flow returns to the processing in Act S10.

Subsequently, the face detection section 141 extracts the feature valuefrom the detected face (Act S16). The feature value detected here is thefeature value characterizing each customer stored in the customerattribute information F3 a of the customer master file F3 stored by thestore server 10 a. The face detection section 141 receives each type ofthe feature value stored in the customer attribute information F3 a viathe information transmission and reception section 112 of the storeserver 10 a and the information transmission and reception section 142of the customer detection apparatus 70 a.

The information transmission and reception section 142 transmits thetype of the extracted feature value and the amount of the feature valueto the store server 10 a (Act S18). After that, the customer detectionapparatus 70 a ends the processing in FIG. 10(a). Actually, until theoperation of the commodity display management system 100 a stops, thecustomer detection apparatus 70 a repeats the processing in FIG. 10(a).

Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 10(b), the flow of theprocessing executed by the store server 10 a when the customer entersthe retail store is described. The information transmission andreception section 112 determines whether the feature value is receivedfrom the customer detection apparatus 70 a (Act S20). In a case in whichthe feature value is received (Yes in Act S20), the customer identifyingsection 102 compares the type and the amount of the received featurevalue with those in the feature value type column f4 and the featurevalue amount column f5 (FIG. 7 ) of the customer attribute informationF3 a to identify the customer C (Act S22). On the other hand, in ActS20, if the information transmission and reception section 112 does notreceive the feature value from the customer detection apparatus 70 a (Noin Act S20), the processing in Act S20 is repeated.

Based on the identifying result in Act S22, the customer identifyingsection 102 determines whether the customer C is the regular customer(Act S24). If it is determined that the customer C is the regularcustomer (Yes in Act S24), the flow proceeds to the processing in ActS26.

Next, the purchased commodity prediction section 104 reads the purchasehistory information F3 b of the customer C (Act S26).

Based on the purchase history information F3 b of the customer C, thepurchased commodity prediction section 104 predicts, for example, thetop three commodities that the customer C is likely to purchase (ActS28).

Subsequently, the commodity display request section 110 reads theinformation in the commodity display master file F2 (Act S30).

The commodity display request section 110 refers to the commoditydisplay object column f24 of the read commodity display master file F2to determine whether the commodity display target article exists in thecommodities that the customer C is likely to purchase (Act S32). Ifthere is a commodity display target article (Yes in Act S32), the flowproceeds to the processing in Act S34.

The commodity display request section 110 transmits the commoditydisplay request information to the portable terminal 80 (Act S34).

The commodity display request section 110 determines whether theinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 (FIG. 9 ) is pressed isreceived from the portable terminal 80 via the information transmissionand reception section 112 (Act S36). If the information indicating thatthe I-go button B1 is pressed is received (Yes in Act S36), the flowproceeds to the processing in Act S38. On the other hand, if theinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 is pressed is notreceived (No in Act S36), the processing in Act S36 is repeated.

The commodity display request section 110 transmits a signal instructingthe deletion of the commodity display request information to all theportable terminals 80 other than the portable terminal which transmitsinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 is pressed among theportable terminals 80 (Act S38).

Next, the inventory quantity calculation section 108 determines whetherthe commodity display information is received from the portable terminal80 (Act S40). If the commodity display information is received (Yes inAct S40), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S42. On the otherhand, if the commodity display information is not received (No in Act40), the processing in Act 40 is repeated.

The display quantity calculation section 106 and the inventory quantitycalculation section 108 update the information in the commodity displaymaster file F2 (Act S42). Specifically, the display quantity calculationsection 106 updates the display quantity column f22 of the commoditydisplay master file F2 based on the contents of the transaction file F5.The inventory quantity calculation section 108 updates the back officeinventory quantity column f23 of the commodity display master file F2based on the received commodity display information. Thereafter, thestore server 10 a ends the processing in FIG. 10(b). Actually, until thecommodity display management system 100 a stops the operation, the storeserver 10 a repeats the processing in FIG. 10(b).

In Act S24, if it is determined that the customer C is not the regularcustomer (No in Act S24), and in Act S32, if the commodity display ofthe commodity that the customer C is likely to purchase is unnecessary(No in Act S32), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S40 in bothcases.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by Portable Terminal

Next, the flow of a series of processing executed by the portableterminal 80 is described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 11 .

The information transmission and reception section 154 determineswhether the commodity display request information is received from thestore server 10 a (Act S50). If the commodity display requestinformation is received (Yes in Act S50), the flow proceeds to theprocessing in Act S52. On the other hand, if the commodity displayrequest information is not received (No in Act S50), the processing inAct S50 is repeated.

The display control section 150 displays the notification screen 95 a(FIG. 9 ) on the display section 94 (touch panel 92) (Act S52).

The commodity display declaration information input section 152determines whether or not the I-go button B1 is pressed (Act S54). Ifthe I-go button B1 is pressed (Yes in Act S54), the flow proceeds to theprocessing in Act S56. On the other hand, if the I-go button B1 is notpressed (No in Act S54), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S58.

The commodity display declaration information input section 152transmits information indicating that the I-go button B1 is pressed tothe store server 10 a via the information transmission and receptionsection 154 (Act S56).

The display control section 150 determines whether the signalinstructing the deletion of the commodity display request information isreceived from the store server 10 a (Act S58). If the signal instructingthe deletion of the commodity display request information is received(Yes in Act S58), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S60. On theother hand, if the signal instructing deletion of the commodity displayrequest information is not received (No in Act S58), the flow proceedsto the processing in Act S54.

The display control section 150 erases the commodity display requestinformation (Act S60). In particular, the display control section 150erases the notification screen 95 a (FIG. 9 ) including the commoditydisplay request information. If the store clerk declares the commoditydisplay of only a part of the commodities required to be displayed onthe commodity shelf, the display control section 150 erases only theinformation corresponding to the commodities of which the commoditydisplay is declared.

The commodity display information input section 153 determines whetherthe store clerk who performs the commodity display inputs the commoditydisplay information (the commodity code and the quantity of thecommodities to be displayed on the commodity shelf) to the portableterminal (Act S62). If the commodity display information is input (Yesin Act S62), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S64. Otherwise(No in Act S62), the processing in Act S62 is repeated.

The information transmission and reception section 154 transmits thecommodity display information to the store server 10 a (Act S64).Thereafter, the portable terminal 80 ends the processing in FIG. 11 .Actually, the portable terminal 80 repeats the processing in FIG. 11until the operation of the commodity display management system 100 a isstopped.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by POS Terminal and Flow ofProcessing Executed by Store Server at a Predetermined Time AfterClosing Store

Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 12 , the flow of a seriesof processing executed by the POS terminal 50 and a flow of a series ofprocessing executed by the store server 10 a at a predetermined timesuch as after closing the retail store are described.

First, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 12(a), the flow ofprocessing executed by the store server 10 a is described. At apredetermined time such as after closing the retail store, the displayquantity calculation section 106 determines whether the transaction fileF5 is received from the POS terminal 50 (Act S66). If the transactionfile F5 is received (Yes in Act S66), the flow proceeds to theprocessing in Act S68. On the other hand, if the transaction file F5 isnot received (No in Act S66), the processing in Act S66 is repeated.

The control section 18 of the store server 10 a updates the purchasehistory information F3 b of the corresponding customer C based on thecontent of the transaction file F5 (Act S68). Thereafter, the storeserver 10 a ends the processing in FIG. 12(a).

Next, the flow of processing executed by the POS terminal 50 isdescribed with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 12(b). First, thecommodity registration processing section 120 reads the commodityinformation of the commodity purchased by customer C to register it (ActS70). Specifically, the commodity registration processing section 120reads the barcode attached to the commodity with the barcode reader 71(FIG. 3 ).

The checkout processing section 122 determines whether the closing keyis pressed (Act S72). If the closing key is pressed (Yes in Act S72),the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S74. On the other hand, ifthe closing key is not pressed (No in Act S72), the flow returns to theprocessing in Act S70.

The checkout processing section 122 executes the checkout processing tosettle the transaction with respect to the commodity (Act S74). Then,the purchase history updating section 124 generates the transaction fileF5 including the commodity information purchased by the customer C (ActS76).

The information transmission and reception section 126 transmits thetransaction file F5 to the store server 10 a (Act S78). Thereafter, thePOS terminal 50 terminates the processing in FIG. 12(a). Actually, untilthe commodity display management system 100 a stops the operation, thePOS terminal 50 repeats the processing in FIG. 12(a).

In the store server 10 a of the first embodiment, the customeridentifying section 102 (identifying module) identifies the customer Cwho is the regular customer entering the retail store, and the purchasedcommodity prediction section 104 (prediction module) predicts thecommodity that the customer C is likely to purchase based on the pastpurchase history of the customer C. However, the commodity that thecustomer C who is the regular customer is likely to purchase may bepredicted based on the attributes of the customer C, such as age, sexand the like or based on the purchase history of another customer havingthe same attribute as the customer C.

Further, in addition to the commodity display corresponding to thecustomer C who is the regular customer, the commodity that the customerC is likely to purchase may also be predicted based on the purchasehistory of another customer having the attribute corresponding to theattribute of the customer C identified by the customer identifyingsection 102.

As described above, according to the store server 10 a (informationprocessing apparatus) of the first embodiment, the customer identifyingsection 102 (identifying module) identifies the customer C who entersthe retail store, and the purchased commodity prediction section 104(prediction module) predicts the commodity that the customer C is likelyto purchase based on the purchase history of the customer Chimself/herself identified by the customer identifying section 102.Then, the commodity display request section 110 transmits the commoditydisplay request information for requesting the commodity display of thecommodity predicted by the purchased commodity prediction section 104 tothe portable terminal 80 carried by the store clerk of the retail storeon condition that the display quantity of the commodities calculated bythe display quantity calculation section 106 (calculation module) isless than the predetermined value. Therefore, at the time the customer Centers the retail store, since the commodity that the customer C islikely to purchase can be preferentially displayed on the commodityshelf, it is possible to prevent the loss of the sales opportunity inadvance.

According to the store server 10 a, the commodity display requestsection 110 transmits the commodity display request informationrequesting the commodity display of the commodity predicted by thepurchased commodity prediction section 104 (prediction module) to theportable terminal 80 carried by the store clerk of the retail store oncondition that the display quantity of the commodities calculated by thedisplay quantity calculation section 106 (calculation module) is lessthan the predetermined value and the inventory quantity of thecommodities is not zero. Therefore, among the commodities required to bedisplayed on the commodity shelf, the commodity display of the commodityin stock in the retail store can be reliably requested.

Furthermore, according to the store server 10 a, the display quantitycalculation section 106 (calculation module) calculates the displayquantity of the commodities based on the display quantity of thecommodities and the sales quantity of the commodities. Therefore, thecurrent display quantity of the commodities can be easily and reliablycalculated.

According to the store server 10 a, the commodity display requestsection 110 displays the notification screen 95 a containing thecommodity information indicating the commodity predicted by thepurchased commodity prediction section 104 (prediction module) and theI-go button B1 which is an operator for declaring to perform thecommodity display of the commodity as the request information on theportable terminal 80. Then, the commodity display request section 110erases the display of the commodity information from the portableterminal 80 other than the portable terminal 80 on which the operator isoperated on condition that the I-go button B1 is operated. Therefore, itis possible to reliably and easily prevent that a plurality of storeclerks simultaneously perform the commodity display of the samecommodity.

Second Embodiment

Next, a commodity display management system 100 b provided with a storeserver 10 b which is an example of the information processing apparatusaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention is describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 13 is a diagram of thecommodity display management system 100 b installed in the retail store.

The commodity display management system 100 b has the same functions asthe commodity display management system 100 a, but the configuration isdifferent. The commodity display management system 100 b includes thestore server 10 b in place of the store server 10 a (FIG. 1 ) for thecommodity display management system 100 a. Instead of the customerdetection apparatus 70 a (FIG. 1 ), a customer detection apparatus 70 bis provided. The commodity display management system 100 b includes adisplay quantity detection apparatus 180.

The store server 10 b has a basket analysis function that analyzes thecommodity purchased at the same time together with the predictionfunction of the purchased commodity based on the purchase history of thecustomer C included by the store server 10 a.

The customer detection apparatus 70 b detects that a customer cardissued by the store and held by the customer C is held over apredetermined card reader at the time the customer enters the retailstore. As a result, the customer detection apparatus 70 b detects thatthe customer C enters the retail store.

The display quantity detection apparatus 180 detects the type andquantity of the commodity that the customer C takes out from thecommodity shelf by analyzing an image captured by a camera monitoringthe commodity shelf.

The configuration the commodity display management system 100 b isdescribed below. Since the hardware structure of the store server 10 bis the same as that (FIG. 2 ) of the store server 10 a, the descriptionthereof is omitted.

Description of the Hardware Structure of Customer Detection Apparatus

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration ofthe customer detection apparatus 70 b. As shown in FIG. 14 , thecustomer detection apparatus 70 b includes the control section 78 havingthe same configuration as the control section 78 included in thecustomer detection apparatus 70 a. The ROM 74 of the customer detectionapparatus 70 b stores a control program P6 executed by the customerdetection apparatus 70 b.

A display section 83 and a card R/W 85 are respectively connected to thecustomer detection apparatus 70 b via the controller 81. The operationsof these peripheral devices are all controlled by the control section78. The display section 83 displays guidance relating to an operationmethod of the card R/W 85 and information indicating that the card R/W85 reads the content of the customer card. The card R/W 85 readsinformation for identifying the customer C recorded on the customer cardheld by the customer C. Furthermore, the card R/W 85 writes a visithistory indicating that the customer C visits the retail store to thecustomer card.

Further, the customer detection apparatus 70 b is provided with acommunication I/F 91 for executing data communication with the storeserver 10 b which is a host apparatus via a communication network 34provided in the retail store. The communication I/F 91 is connected tothe internal bus line 87.

Description of Hardware Structure of Display Quantity DetectionApparatus

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration ofthe display quantity detection apparatus 180. As shown in FIG. 15 , thedisplay quantity detection apparatus 180 includes a control section 187having a computer including a CPU 182, a ROM 184 and a RAM 186. The CPU182 executes various processing to control each section. The ROM 184stores data in a non-volatile manner. The RAM 186 stores variable datain a rewritable manner and is used as a work area. The CPU 182, the ROM184 and the RAM 186 are connected via an internal bus line 194.

A control program P7 executed by the display quantity detectionapparatus 180 is stored in the ROM 184. The control program P7 may beprovided as a file in an installable format or an executable format in acomputer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a FD (FlexibleDisk), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and the like.

A plurality of cameras 190 are connected to the display quantitydetection apparatus 180 via a controller 188. The cameras 190 have thesame configuration and capture images of the commodity shelf on whichthe commodity is displayed at the retail store. The operations of thesecameras 190 are all controlled by the control section 187.

Furthermore, the display quantity detection apparatus 180 is providedwith a communication I/F 192 for executing data communication with thestore server 10 b which is a host device via the communication network34 provided in the retail store. The communication I/F 192 is connectedto the internal bus line 194.

Description of Functional Component of Commodity Display ManagementSystem

Next, the functional component of the commodity display managementsystem 100 b is described with reference to FIG. 16 . FIG. 16 is a blockdiagram illustrating the functional component of the commodity displaymanagement system 100 b.

As shown in FIG. 16 , the commodity display management system 100 bincludes the store server 10 b, the POS terminal 50, the customerdetection apparatus 70 b, the display quantity detection apparatus 180,and the portable terminal 80. In order to simplify the description, thecommodity display management system 100 b is illustrated in FIG. 16 asone POS terminal 50 and one portable terminal 80, respectively, althougha plurality of POS terminals 50 and a plurality of the portableterminals 80 are provided.

The CPU 12 (FIG. 2 ) of the store server 10 b operates according to acontrol program P5 to realize the customer identifying section 102, thepurchased commodity prediction section 104, the display quantitycalculation section 106, the inventory quantity calculation section 108,the commodity display request section 110, a basket analysis section111, the information transmission and reception section 112 and the datastorage section 114 shown in FIG. 16 as the functional sections insidethe control section 18.

The customer identifying section 102 is an example of the identifyingmodule. Based on the detection result of the customer detectionapparatus 70 b, the customer identifying section 102 identifies anidentical person as an example of the attribute of the customer C whoenters the retail store.

The purchased commodity prediction section 104 is an example of theprediction module. The purchased commodity prediction section 104predicts the commodity that the customer C is likely to purchase basedon the result of identifying the identical person which is the attributeof the customer C. Specifically, the purchased commodity predictionsection 104 predicts the commodity that the customer C is likely topurchase based on the past purchase history of the customer C and theanalysis result of the commodity purchased together at the time thecustomer C shops in the past.

The display quantity calculation section 106 is an example of thecalculation module. The display quantity calculation section 106calculates how many commodities predicted by the purchased commodityprediction section 104 are currently displayed on the commodity shelf ofthe retail store. Specifically, the display quantity calculation section106 calculates the current display quantity of the commodities based onthe type and quantity result of the commodity taken out from thecommodity shelf, which is detected by the display quantity detectionapparatus 180.

The functions of the inventory quantity calculation section 108 and thecommodity display request section 110 are the same as those of theinventory quantity calculation section 108 and the commodity displayrequest section 110 of the commodity display management system 100 adescribed above.

The basket analysis section 111 analyzes the commodity purchasedtogether based on the purchase history of the customer C.

The information transmission and reception section 112 transmits andreceives information between the store server 10 b and the POS terminal50. The information transmission and reception section 112 transmits andreceives information between the store server 10 b and the customerdetection apparatus 70 b. Further, the information transmission andreception section 112 transmits and receives information between thestore server 10 b and the display quantity detection apparatus 180, andbetween the store server 10 b and the portable terminal 80. Theinformation transmitted and received is described in detail withreference to flowcharts in FIG. 18 , FIG. 19 , and FIG. 20 describedlater.

The data storage section 114 is realized by the memory section 20 (FIG.2 ) described above. The data storage section 114 stores the controlprogram P1, the commodity master file F1, the commodity display masterfile F2 and the customer master file F3 which are mentioned above.Furthermore, the data storage section 114 stores a basket analysis fileF6. The basket analysis file F6 stores a result of analyzing thecommodity purchased together at the time the customer C purchases acertain commodity.

The function of the POS terminal 50 is as described in the firstembodiment.

The CPU 72 (FIG. 13 ) of the customer detection apparatus 70 b operatesaccording to the control program P6 to realize a card informationreading section 143 and the information transmission and receptionsection 142 and the data storage section 144 shown in FIG. 16 as thefunctional sections inside the control section 78.

The card information reading section 143 is realized by theaforementioned card R/W 85 (FIG. 14 ). The card information readingsection 143 reads customer card information for identifying the customerC recorded in the customer card carried by the customer C.

The information transmission and reception section 142 transmits andreceives information between the customer detection apparatus 70 b andthe store server 10 b. Specifically, the customer card information istransmitted from the customer detection apparatus 70 b to the storeserver 10 b. Details are described with reference to the flowchart inFIG. 18 described later.

The data storage section 144 is realized by the aforementioned ROM 74(FIG. 14 ). The data storage section 144 stores the control program P6.

The CPU 182 (FIG. 15 ) of the display quantity detection apparatus 180operates according to the control program P7 to realize a commodityshelf image capturing section 200, a commodity extraction detectionsection 202, an information transmission and reception section 204, anda data storage section 206 shown in FIG. 16 as the functional sectionsinside the control section 187.

The commodity shelf image capturing section 200 is realized by theaforementioned camera 190 (FIG. 15 ). The commodity shelf imagecapturing section 200 photographs the commodity shelf on which thecommodity is displayed.

The commodity extraction detection section 202 detects whether thecommodity is extracted from the image of the commodity shelf captured bythe commodity shelf image capturing section 200. Furthermore, thecommodity extraction detection section 202 detects the type and quantityof the commodity taken out.

The information transmission and reception section 204 transmits andreceives information between the display quantity detection apparatus180 and the store server 10 b. Specifically, the information on thecommodity taken out from the commodity shelf is transmitted from thedisplay quantity detection apparatus 180 to the store server 10 b. Thedetails are described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 19described later.

The data storage section 206 is realized by the aforementioned ROM 184(FIG. 15 ). The data storage section 206 stores the control program P7.

The function of the portable terminal 80 is as described in the firstembodiment.

Description of Commodity Display Request Information

With reference to FIG. 17 , the commodity display request informationtransmitted to the portable terminal 80 carried by the store clerk whoperforms the commodity display if the commodity display is necessary isdescribed. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of anotification screen 95 b displayed on the portable terminal 80 in thepresent embodiment.

The display control section 150 (FIG. 16 ) of the portable terminal 80receives an instruction from the commodity display request section 110(FIG. 16 ) of the store server 10 b and displays the notification screen95 b shown in FIG. 17 on the display section 94 (touch panel 92) of theportable terminal 80.

The notification screen 95 b has the visit guidance M1, the visitingcustomer name M2, a basket analysis file F6 a, a commodity list F2 b,and the I-go button B1.

The contents of the visiting guidance M1 and the visiting customer nameM2, and the function of the I-go button B1 are the same as thosedescribed in the first embodiment.

The basket analysis file F6 a is a file in which a commodity A and acommodity B that the customer C purchases frequently and a commoditythat is frequently purchased together with the commodity A and thecommodity B are listed up from the basket analysis file F6. For example,in FIG. 17 , a commodity X indicates a commodity that is frequentlypurchased together with the commodity A. A commodity Y indicates acommodity that is frequently purchased together with the commodity B.

The commodity list F2 b is selected from among the commodity displaymaster file F2, and is a commodity list for listing up the commoditiesthat the customer C is likely to purchase based on the past purchasehistory of the customer C and the basket analysis. The commodity list F2b has the same format as the commodity display master file F2.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by Customer DetectionApparatus and the Store Server

Next, the flow of a series of processing executed by the customerdetection apparatus 70 b and the store server 10 b is described withreference to the flowchart in FIG. 18 .

First, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 18(a), the flow ofprocessing executed by the customer detection apparatus 70 b isdescribed. The card information reading section 143 determines whetherthe customer card is held over (Act S80). If it is determined that thecustomer card is held over (Yes in Act S80), the flow proceeds to theprocessing in Act S82. On the other hand, if it is determined that thecustomer card is not held over (No in Act S80), the processing in ActS80 is repeated.

Subsequently, the card information reading section 143 reads thecustomer card information recorded on the held customer card (Act S82).

The information transmission and reception section 142 transmits thecustomer card information read by the card information reading section143 to the store server 10 b (Act S84). Thereafter, the customerdetection apparatus 70 b ends the processing in FIG. 18(a). Actually,until the operation of the commodity display management system 100 b isstopped, the customer detection apparatus 70 b repeats the processing inFIG. 18(a).

Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 18(b), the flow ofprocessing executed by the store server 10 b when the customer entersthe retail store is described. First, the information transmission andreception section 112 determines whether the customer card informationis received from the customer detection apparatus 70 b (Act S86). If thecustomer card information is received (Yes in Act S86), the customeridentifying section 102 compares the information of the receivedcustomer card with the customer ID (FIG. 7 ) stored in the customerattribute information F3 a to identify the customer C (Act S88).

Based on the identifying result in Act S88, the customer identifyingsection 102 determines whether the customer C is the regular customer(Act S90). If it is determined that the customer C is the regularcustomer (Yes in Act S90), the flow proceeds to the processing in ActS92.

Next, the purchased commodity prediction section 104 reads the purchasehistory information F3 b of the customer C (Act S92).

Furthermore, the purchased commodity prediction section 104 reads thebasket analysis file F6 (Act S94).

The purchased commodity prediction section 104 predicts the commoditythat the customer C is likely to purchase based on the purchase historyinformation F3 b of the customer C and the result of the basket analysis(Act S96).

The commodity display request section 110 reads the information of thecommodity display master file F2 (Act S98).

The commodity display request section 110 refers to the commoditydisplay object column f24 of the read commodity display master file F2to determine whether there is the commodity display target article amongthe commodities that the customer C is likely to purchase (Act S100). Ifthere is the commodity display target article (Yes in Act S100), theflow proceeds to the processing in Act S102.

The commodity display request section 110 transmits the commoditydisplay request information to the portable terminal 80 (Act S102).

The commodity display request section 110 determines whether theinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 (FIG. 17 ) is pressed isreceived from the portable terminal 80 via the information transmissionand reception section 112 (Act S104). If the information indicating thatthe I-go button B1 is pressed is received (Yes in Act S104), the flowproceeds to the processing in Act S106. On the other hand, if theinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 is pressed is notreceived (No in Act S104), the processing in Act S104 is repeated.

The commodity display request section 110 transmits a signal instructingdeletion of the commodity display request information to the portableterminal 80 other than the portable terminal that transmits theinformation indicating that the I-go button B1 is pressed among theportable terminals 80 (Act S106).

The display quantity calculation section 106 determines whether thecommodity information is received from the display quantity detectionapparatus 180 (Act S108). If the commodity information is received (Yesin Act S108), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S110. On theother hand, if the commodity information is not received (No in ActS108), the processing in Act S108 is repeated.

The inventory quantity calculation section 108 determines whether thecommodity display information is received from the portable terminal 80(Act S110). If the commodity display information is received (Yes in ActS110), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S112. On the otherhand, if the commodity display information is not received (No in ActS110), the processing in Act S110 is repeated.

The display quantity calculation section 106 and the inventory quantitycalculation section 108 update the information of the commodity displaymaster file F2 (Act S112). Specifically, the display quantitycalculation section 106 updates the display quantity column f22 of thecommodity display master file F2 based on the commodity informationreceived in Act S108. The inventory quantity calculation section 108updates the back office inventory quantity column f23 of the commoditydisplay master file F2 based on the commodity display information.Thereafter, the store server 10 b ends the processing in FIG. 18(b).Actually, until the commodity display management system 100 b stops theoperation, the store server 10 b repeats the processing in FIG. 18(b).

In Act S90, if it is determined that the customer C is not the regularcustomer (No in Act S90), and in Act S100, if there is no need todisplay the commodity that the customer C is likely to purchase on thecommodity shelf (No in Act S100), the flow proceeds to the processing inAct S108.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by Display Quantity DetectionApparatus

Next, the flow of a series of processing executed by the displayquantity detection apparatus 180 is described with reference to theflowchart in FIG. 19 .

The commodity shelf image capturing section 200 photographs thecommodity shelf on which the commodity is displayed (Act S130).

The commodity extraction detection section 202 detects whether there ismovement in the image captured by the commodity shelf image capturingsection 200 (Act S132). Specifically, a difference between imagescaptured at predetermined time intervals is calculated by the camera 190(FIG. 15 ), and when a region with brightness exceeding a predeterminedthreshold value is detected in the difference result, it can bedetermined that there is the movement. When there is the movement in theimage captured by the commodity shelf image capturing section 200 (Yesin Act S132), the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S134. On theother hand, when there is no movement in the image captured by thecommodity shelf image capturing section 200 (No in Act S132), the flowreturns to the processing in Act S130.

The commodity extraction detection section 202 determines whether thecommodity is taken out from the commodity shelf (Act S134).Specifically, the commodity extraction detection section 202 determinesthat the commodity is taken out if an area where the movement detectedin Act S132 occurs has a shape extending in the direction of extractingthe commodity. If it is determined that the commodity is taken out fromthe commodity shelf (Yes in Act S134), the flow proceeds to theprocessing in Act S136. On the other hand, if it is determined that thecommodity is not taken out from the commodity shelf (No in Act S134),the flow returns to the processing in Act S130.

The commodity extraction detection section 202 identifies the commodityinformation taken out from the commodity shelf (Act S136). Here, thecommodity information includes the commodity code and the quantity ofthe commodity taken out. Specifically, the commodity extractiondetection section 202 detects which commodity is taken out and how manycommodities the customer takes out based on the position of the movementarea detected by the camera 190. It is assumed that the commodity isdisplayed at a determined position of the predetermined commodity shelf.Therefore, it is possible to identify the commodity taken out and thenumber thereof depending on the movement and the position of the camera190 among the plurality of cameras 190 that captures the image.

The information transmission and reception section 204 transmits thecommodity information identified by the commodity extraction detectionsection 202 to the store server 10 b (Act S138). Thereafter, the displayquantity detection apparatus 180 ends the processing in FIG. 19 . Infact, the display quantity detection apparatus 180 repeats theprocessing in FIG. 19 until the operation of the commodity displaymanagement system 100 b is stopped.

Description of Flow of Processing Executed by Store Server atPredetermined Time such as After Closing Store

Next, with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 20 , the flow of a seriesof processing executed by the store server 10 b at a predetermined timesuch as after closing the retail store is described.

First, the information transmission and reception section 112 determineswhether the transaction file F5 is received from the POS terminal 50(Act S140). If the transaction file F5 is received (Yes in Act S140),the flow proceeds to the processing in Act S142. On the other hand, ifthe transaction file F5 is not received (No in Act S140), the processingin Act S140 is repeated.

The control section 18 of the store server 10 b updates the purchasehistory information F3 b of the customer C based on the contents of thetransaction file F5 (Act S142).

The basket analysis section 111 performs the basket analysis based onthe purchase history of the customer C updated in Act S142 (Act S144).

Then, the basket analysis section 111 updates the basket analysis fileF6 based on the result of the basket analysis (Act S146). Thereafter,the store server 10 b ends the processing in FIG. 20 .

In the commodity display management system 100 b, the flow of theprocessing executed by the portable terminal 80 is the same as that inthe flowchart in FIG. 11 . The flow of the processing executed by thePOS terminal 50 is the same as that in the flowchart in FIG. 12(b).Therefore, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

As described above, according to the store serer 10 b (informationprocessing apparatus) of the second embodiment, the display quantitycalculation section 106 calculates the commodity display quantity basedon the commodity display quantity and the number of the commoditiestaken out by the customer C from the commodity shelf on which thecommodity is displayed. Therefore, the display quantity of thecommodities can be calculated early at the time the customer C takes itout from the commodity shelf.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended tocover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the invention.

For example, if the customer C enters the store, the purchased commodityprediction section 104 may predict the commodity that the customer C islikely to purchase based on not only the purchase history of thecustomer C himself/herself but also the purchase history of anothercustomer C belonging to the same category (age group, sex, occupation,etc.) as the customer C.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inventory management server connectable to astore terminal for managing commodities that are on display for sale ata store, comprising: a network interface; a storage device that stores arelational database in which historical purchase data of each ofcustomers is associated with identification data of the customer, and aprocessor configured to: track a quantity of each of the commodities andupdate the quantity based on sales data, upon receipt of customeridentification information, determine the identification datacorresponding to the received customer identification information andsearch, using the determined identification data, the relationaldatabase for the historical purchase data corresponding to thedetermined identification data, determine whether any of the displayedcommodities need to be replenished based on the updated quantity thereofand the historical purchase data corresponding to the determinedidentification data, upon determining that any of the displayedcommodities need to be replenished, generate request informationindicating a request for replenishing the any of the displayedcommodities, and control the network interface to transmit to the storeterminal the request information, the request information causing thestore terminal to display a screen showing the request and by which therequest can be accepted.
 2. The inventory management server according toclaim 1, wherein the customer identification information is an image ofa customer's face or feature data extracted therefrom.
 3. The inventorymanagement server according to claim 2, wherein the image is captured bya camera installed in the store.
 4. The inventory management serveraccording to claim 3, wherein the feature data is extracted by a facerecognition apparatus configured to acquire the image from the camera.5. The inventory management server according to claim 1, wherein thecustomer identification information indicates a member ID scanned by acard reader.
 6. The inventory management server according to claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to determine a commoditythat is likely to be purchased and a quantity thereof based on thehistorical purchase data corresponding to the determined identificationdata, determine whether a sufficient quantity of the determinedcommodity is being displayed based on the updated quantity of thecommodity, and upon determining that the sufficient quantity of thedetermined commodity is not being displayed, determine an additionalquantity of the commodity that needs to be displayed, wherein therequest information further indicates the determined additionalquantity.
 7. The inventory management server according to claim 6,wherein the storage device stores a stock quantity of each of thecommodities, and the request information is transmitted only when thedetermined additional quantity of the commodity is equal to or less thanthe stock quantity thereof.
 8. The inventory management server accordingto claim 6, wherein the storage device stores status informationindicating whether each customer is a frequent customer, and theprocessor is configured to determine whether the customer associatedwith the determined identification data is a frequent customer based onthe status information prior to determining the commodity the quantitythereof.
 9. The inventory management server according to claim 8,wherein the processor determines the commodity and the quantity thereofonly when the customer is determined to be a frequent customer.
 10. Theinventory management server according to claim 1, wherein the storagedevice stores the quantity of each of the commodities that is on displayfor sale, and upon receipt of the sales data, the quantity of each ofthe commodities is updated according to the received sales data.
 11. Aninventory management method carried out by an inventory managementserver connectable to a store terminal for managing commodities that areon display for sale at a store, the inventory management methodcomprising: storing, in a storage device, a relational database in whichhistorical purchase data of each of customers is associated withidentification data of the customer; tracking a quantity of each of thecommodities and updating the quantity based on sales data; upon receiptof customer identification information, determining the identificationdata corresponding to the received customer identification informationand searching, using the determined identification data, the relationaldatabase for the historical purchase data corresponding to thedetermined identification data; determining whether any of the displayedcommodities need to be replenished based on the updated quantity thereofand the historical purchase data corresponding to the determinedidentification data; upon determining that any of the displayedcommodities need to be replenished, generating request informationindicating a request for replenishing the any of the displayedcommodities; and transmitting to the store terminal the requestinformation, the request information causing the store terminal todisplay a screen showing the request and by which the request can beaccepted.
 12. The inventory management method according to claim 11,wherein the customer identification information is an image of acustomer's face or feature data extracted therefrom.
 13. The inventorymanagement method according to claim 12, wherein the image is capturedby a camera installed in the store.
 14. The inventory management methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the feature data is extracted by a facerecognition apparatus configured to acquire the image from the camera.15. The inventory management method according to claim 11, wherein thecustomer identification information indicates a member ID scanned by acard reader.
 16. The inventory management method according to claim 11,further comprising: determining a commodity that is likely to bepurchased and a quantity thereof based on the historical purchase datacorresponding to the determined identification data; determining whethera sufficient quantity of the determined commodity is being displayedbased on the updated quantity of the commodity; and upon determiningthat the sufficient quantity of the determined commodity is not beingdisplayed, determining an additional quantity of the commodity thatneeds to be displayed, wherein the request information further indicatesthe determined additional quantity.
 17. The inventory management methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising: storing in the storage devicea stock quantity of each of the commodities, wherein the requestinformation is transmitted only when the determined additional quantityof the commodity is equal to or less than the stock quantity thereof.18. The inventory management method according to claim 16, furthercomprising: storing in the storage device status information indicatingwhether each customer is a frequent customer; and determining whetherthe customer associated with the determined identification data is afrequent customer based on the status information prior to determiningthe commodity and the quantity thereof.
 19. The inventory managementmethod according to claim 18, wherein the commodity and the quantitythereof are determined only when the customer is determined to be afrequent customer.
 20. The inventory management method according toclaim 11, further comprising: storing in the storage device the quantityof each of the commodities that is on display for sale, wherein uponreceipt of the sales data, the quantity of each of the commodities isupdated according to the received sales data.